Silvercharm

According to the source, Pol Gen Chidchai praised police for promptly taking action against people involved in the CentralWorld incident in which three anti-Thaksin protesters were injured during a clash on Monday.

This is from the same article that George posted. In other words, great work for idly watching and allowing a 70-year old man to be beaten unconscious while under your duty to prtotect.

Seems like BIG trouble brewing here with the police force clearly on Thaksin's side and not upholding their real duties. Sadly, it has not been the anti-Thaksin protesters who have caused the problems and who are blamed for everything, and more importantly, violence. It has been without a shadow of doubt the pro-Thaksin forces who have created the violence, yet nary a word about pro-Thaksin forces out in force.

The "dangerous" bomb in question.

Abhisit urges Thaksin to arrest four military officers 'linked' to bomb plot

Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva Sunday urged caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to arrest four military officers linked by the premier to the bomb plot against him.

Abhisit said since Thaksin had said there were four military officers behind the bomb plot against him, he should have enough information to convince him so.

"So, legal action must be taken and arrests must be made immediately," Abhisit said.

The Nation

source: http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/r...newsid=30012088

Once again, the PM puts his foot in his mouth and he can't produce results. Nothing but a shameful and low stunt.

I hadn't heard or seen much about him in recent years, but like yourself, Popeyethesailorman, I remember seeing him in California during that same time frame. You mentioned Gospel John, which was one of my favorites, as was his version of MacArthur Park. Chameleon and MF Horn 1 and 2 were also great stuff. He played those high notes with such ease, and for those in my high-school jazz band, we all wanted to play like Maynard. He was insipiring to many.

RIP Maynard

I couldn't agree more...shocking. Two things did cross my mind while watching a few clips:

1. No teacher was present, which is fairly common in a few government schools I've worked in. During these times, if the teacher were a falang who had not been present, what would the consequence be? The other way, I know the answer already.

2. The way some of those girls had fought, there must be a great future for them in the current government administration. Perhaps a bodyguard?

Hi Tippaporn,

Though I don't know you, I do feel for you and I hope all will work out for the best. From all that I've read, you have many good options to choose from. Another option could be for you to remotely access your computer. There are programs that you can use where you can be anywhere and still get into your computer and it is like being at home in front of your computer. I will admit that I have never used this function, though I have seen it on my sytem. gotomypc.com has much more information than I can give to you. Anyone else know if this works or what would need to be done? Just a thought.

Best to you,

SC

I'm sure with these types of incidents happening, the UN will gladly accept and roll out the red carpet for Surakiart Sathirathai as the new United Nations secretary-general. Such an impeccable human rights record that the Thaksin Administration has.

CHILD ABUSERS

Ministry to compile suspects list

Stringent checks are now in store for foreigners wishing to teach

The Education Ministry yesterday offered to compile a list of foreigners suspected of committing crimes against children.

Khunying Kasama Varawarn na Ayutthaya, the ministry's permanent secretary, said it was a measure to help schools screen foreign applicants.

She was speaking after a meeting with representatives of relevant authorities, international schools, bilingual schools and English language schools.

The meeting was held in the wake of last week's arrest of John Mark Karr, a suspect in the 1996 murder of an American child beauty queen.

Karr managed to find teaching jobs in Bangkok before he was arrested here last Wednesday.

"We will seek information on suspected child abusers from various authorities overseas," Kasama said yesterday. She added that she had contacted the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) for information.

She said relevant parties would go into more details about a plan to develop a database of foreign teachers in Thailand next month.

Kasama, however, assured parents that her ministry and schools had carefully recruited foreign teachers by conducting checks into their qualifications and any criminal record.

"But if you see any suspicious teacher, please alert us through hotline number 1579," she said.

According to Kasama, her ministry has conducted qualification checks on 7,000 foreign applicants for teaching jobs during the past year. Of them, only 45 have submitted fake certificates and none had any criminal record.

"But from now on, we will tighten the screening even more," Kasama said.

International Schools Association of Thailand's vice president Kumari Shinawatra said her association's members had always made careful background checks before recruiting any teacher.

"We have checked whether their certificates are genuine and checked their history with their former employers and with the police," she said.

However, an informed source said only leading international schools had acceptable standards in recruiting foreign teachers, while smaller institutes or language schools were often so desperate to acquire foreign teachers they didn't bother with any detailed checking.

That was fast! Only 45 out of 7,000 had fake certs and doccuments,

source: http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/08/22/nat...al_30011603.php

This is really stunning, especially from a man who only a few weeks back asked for national unity and reconciliation. Even more ironic is a small quote from his letter to George Bush. "I know that you agree with me that the rule of law and Constitutional order in Thailand and in Asia more broadly must prevail over demagoguery and mob action." On the other hand I must agree with Thaksin when he had written, "There has been a threat to democracy in Thailand since early this year. " That threat has been clearly evidenced by none other than...

Screening of alien teachers to be tougher

JonBenet Ramsey case arrest prompts rethink

POST REPORTERS

The Education Ministry next week will discuss with the International Schools Association how to toughen the screening of foreigners who apply for teaching jobs following the detention of a suspect in a high-profile murder, says education permanent secretary Kasama Varavarn. The move follows the arrest of John Karr, an American school teacher alleged to have murdered child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey in 1996.

Karr had worked as an English teacher at a school in Sathon district before leaving the job about two weeks ago.

Currently, schools need to check only the qualifications of foreign applicants and are required to refer them to the Office of the Private Education Commission which then does the cross-checking with overseas universities where the foreign applicants graduated.

The agency will also ask Special Branch police and the National Intelligence Agency to investigate the backgrounds and history of the applicants.

I'm rather confused about this, especially the first paragraph in this section. Every applicant is checked for qualifications and another cross-check given by the PEC? If this is true, how could backpackers possibly be employed who have earned their "degree" from Kao San University. Regarding the NIA investigations, while it looks good on paper, the expense for each and every applicant and the monumental process involved would take a very long time for an applicant to be hired.

Once they have been cleared, the Office of Private Education will give their employment the go-ahead.

However, after the arrest of Karr, schools will be instructed to deal directly with Special Branch police in examining the foreign applicants' backgrounds, Khunying Kasama said.

Anusorn Thaidecha, director of the Office of the Private Education Commission, said he will ask the Immigration Office and the Foreign Ministry to tighten the process of issuing visas to foreign nationals and will request blacklists of dangerous people to check.

Great idea and in the end a small percentage will be refused entry. There still remains a smaller percentage of foreign nationals who have not committed crimes in their home country, who possess the required credentials, education, and experience and might be here for more sinister reasons. There is no sure way to keep these people out. By all means, this does not only apply to teachers.

Jakkrapob Penkair, deputy secretary to the prime minister in charge of education, said a lot of foreigners holding tourist visas prefer to apply to become school teachers in Thailand. They make money out of teaching English as a sideline to pay for expenses during their stay in Thailand, he said.

Immigration chief Suwat Thamrongsrisakul said international schools can check the backgrounds of foreigners applying for teaching jobs themselves by searching the Internet for the names of suspects in child sexual abuse cases provided by the US.

Very true. There are numerous ways to check sexual predators in the states. California, for example, has an extensive website that allows anyone to search for registered sex offenders in California. Other states also have websites that allow the public to search these records. Again, not everyone has been caught and for a person to be on these websites, they must have a conviction first.

Pol Lt-Gen Suwat also ordered two policemen to stay with Karr in prison to prevent him committing suicide.

Education Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng said the international school in Sathon district should not be faulted for accepting Karr as a teacher as it had had no in-depth information of the man.

Panicha Tulwattana, a personnel officer at Bangkok Christian College, said Karr had taught lower primary students for a month before he was asked to resign. He looked suspicious and was always too strict with his students. A teacher said Karr behaved abnormally in class. He punished students unable to finish in-class assignments by forbidding them to go to the toilet.

Unfortunately, there is no 100% safeguard anywhere in the world to keep sexual predators out of not only classrooms, but any society as a whole. It has been suggested that applicants have a degree in education, have a teaching license, have the proper credentials, and maybe the problem will go away. This holds no water and is totally absurd. When looking back within the past few years at the foreign nationals who have been arrested for crimes against children, the majority had the education degrees, the teaching license and credentials. The problem as it relates to child abuse/exploitation is not relative as to whether or not someone is qualified or not; they come in all walks and styles of life, and it is not only teachers. IJWT stated this is another knee-jerk reaction, and I must agree with him. They are confusing and compounding two totally unrelated areas; sexual abuse and qualifications, into one category. I cannot find any correlation between the two.

BFITS!

Gotta give "O" some credit for this. To be making that kind of money for a Thai his age is very good. To suddenly take a huge drop like that is a major life change. It would be very difficult to adjust to 4,000baht a month. I would be a little depressed and upset. But, he can do it. It will take a lot of patience on your part and a lot of emotional support as well.

When I met "B" some years back, he didn't have much money at all. His mother would give him a monthly allowance and that was about it. Throughout the past four years, I've supported "B." Basically, he would get a 4,000baht a month allowance from me, plus another 1,000 from his mother. When he started working 6-months ago, I agreed to give him only 1,000baht to help offset transportation. He was making 8,000baht to start and has since then risen up to about 13,000baht per month.

The nice thing is when he didn't have much, he learned how to save and to budget his own money. Now it's easier for him. Sure, at first it was spend, spend, spend. That's okay, I did the same thing when I was his age and received my first few paychecks. Now, he's becoming ever the wiser and is starting to appreciate the importance of saving.

Since you asked, my only comment would be to take it slow and to be very understanding. Don't push the issue all the time and allow him to find some appreciation on his own. Sure, you'll have to motivate him at times, but not overwhelm him. Find that nice balance.

SC

For the past year, I've been using a small electronic device called the ARS MAT12. Bought it at Carrefoure for about 150baht. Works great. It just a small cardboard looking repellent that you place into the device and it continues to work for about 12 hours. No mess, no smell, no smoke. Don't know if it kills the mosquitos, but it does keep them off. Such peaceful nights

Ah, yes. I know the case now. It's here in LOS isn't it? Michael Chacksonkiddporntip.

...Chrsitianity. Gay scientists in Geneva have finally isolated the Christian Gene. Maybe help is on the way.

Gene Breakthrough

SC

Why the gay forum? Is there more to this?

Without knowing many details about the case, it's really hard to say. Personally, I think he's guilty. Legally, they may have a hard time (from what I've seen so far). The evidence found is really nothing. Barely legal is still legal. Books. Well, depends on how the books are presented. Is it considered art? There have been cases in California, where the judges have ruled that some photos are "art." Tough one really. Unwashed underwear. If it has his seman on it, that might be difficult to refute. But, if nothing is present, there are many reasons why boys dirty underwear had been found. "My maid must have overlooked the underwear."

It could very well be another example of a family trying to get rich fast scheme. The mothers credibility will be on the line in this case. She's made false claims in the past, why not now? Just hope it doesn't turn into another OJ Simpson trial. What a <deleted> slap in the face of justice.

Congrats, IJWT. I'm sure everything will get better and better. "B" and myself are approaching the four-year mark. We've had our ups and downs, like any relationship, but we've never given up on anything. Trust was a big issue at first with "B." Of course that was understandable given his age. If I dared talk to anyone, it was an immediate, "Why are you talking to him!" "I'm not good enough for you?" It took a lot of patience at times. Patience, understadning, and communication were some of the mose important things. Another that was equally important to these was looking into the long term. I knew eventually that the desired 100% trust would eventually happen, and it did. Actions, not words, are to important as heck. Be gentle and nurture. I can't speak for all Thai boys here, but many I have met, and including "B" have, at least in Western thought, very dysfunctional families. Usually the father is missing, father doesn't care, or maybe an abusive family member. "B" fits into one, and it's not the abuse. Getting him to open up, share about those repressed and hurtful feelings released a lot of inner turmoil for him. Sure, he saw much of his father in me, and the jelousy came from the total fear of being abandoned again. That understanding alone gave me a lot to work with to help "B" understand his own self and the jealousy. It took a few years, but it was sure worth it

Continue looking into the future. Okay, Thai's can have a problem with the "Be Here Now" attitude, but constant reminding of careful planning and obtaining goals have been beneficial to us. Four years and many more to come.

SC

Thanks, Astral! Much appreciated

I have a couple of questions that I'm hoping someone can answer. I currently have True ADSL, but I will be moving to another area next month. The place I'm moving to has a TOT line, therefore, I will have to find a TOT carrier for ADSL service. Since I own the modem (Billion) and splitter from True I will be taking that with me. Does anyone know if that particular modem can be used with TOT service, or will TOT require me to purchase their own brand? The second question. Does TOT offer a service similar to True as far as price and unlimited international as well as, domestic sites? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

SC

Sure,

Just mention thaivisa.com and you will receive a 10% discount - valid up to July 14th 2004.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's confusion! Discount until July 2004?

I've got a mini-schanuzer that I was able to buy here. She's really good at catching the mice that on ocassion will get into the home from nearby fields. Good all around pet and watchdog. She's my baby, that's for sure. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Cute pup.... but that stare looks rather disturbing with the redye blacked out like that.

cv

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Okay, ya got me. My photoshop editing needs a wee more practice. Thanks for the compliment though.

I still hold the door open, and yes, some folks do acknowledge that with a thank you, and others give a confused look, while a low percentage haven't a clue what I'm doing for them and will stand there with a blnk stare.

The que jumpers are the worst, IMHO. After nearly 4-years here I had decided a few months back not to allow it to happen. Christ that difficult! It's so ingrained into my psyche not to be pushy, that it took a few months to begin to feel comfortable doing that. These days, when someone cuts in front, I cut right in front of them and will proceed with my order or purchase. Happened today while waiting in line for about 5-minutes. A young gal did the side sweep and went to open her mouth to order. I just stepped in front of her, looked at the cashier and placed my order. The youngster just walked to the next counter and bullied her way in front of others and made her order. I'm sure to newbies here, my behavior will be shocking. "Did you see that rude falang! He just cut in line in front of that poor local! The nerve of that guy." Oh, well!

I liked sbk's post. It said a lot about living here after X-amount of years and still being called a "guest." Guests usually stay for short amounts of time. After that, you're a resident. Don't care if it's on paper or not, and you do have the right to express on opinion. Not trying to change Thai culture or Thainess (whatever that is), but trying to help people be a little more aware of the everlasting consequences of their selfish actions (littering, pollution).

Last week I taught my roommates and their family about the proper usage of a coffee table. They were ready to cut meat, vegetables and god knows what on the table! I found glasses of water, and a soda sitting on my table with no coasters. Just explained what the usage is for, and the do's and dont's for using that table. They never did it again. Me thinks many just need to be told.

I've got a mini-schanuzer that I was able to buy here. She's really good at catching the mice that on ocassion will get into the home from nearby fields. Good all around pet and watchdog. She's my baby, that's for sure.